IRELAND: Human rights under UN scrutiny

* News Release
Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *12 July 2000AI Index EUR
29/002/2000News Service Nr. 136

PUBLIC
STATEMENT

Ireland

Human rights under UN
scrutiny

Amnesty International is urging the UN Human
Rights Committee to scrutinize emergency legislation, fair
trial issues and police investigations during the
examination of the second periodic report of Ireland on 13
July in Geneva. Amnesty International draws the Committee's
attention to various provisions and practices which are in
contravention of the internationally recognized rights to
life, to fair trial, to liberty, and to freedom from torture
and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

In its comments
to the Human Rights Committee, Amnesty International raises
the cases of John Morris, Ronan MacLochlainn, and John
Carthy. In the wake of their killings by the Garda [police]
Emergency Response Unit in recent years, Amnesty
International believes the government should establish
mechanisms to ensure independent and impartial
investigations of disputed killings by law enforcement
officers, and that inquests into deaths in custody should
provide an effective public scrutiny of the legality of
actions taken by officers.

The inquest system, as
presently constituted, severely disadvantages the victims'
families in their attempts to shed light on the full
circumstances of a disputed killing. Lawyers for the
victims' families are not provided with full autopsy
statements, full forensic evidence and complete witness
statements in advance of the inquest which hampers the
victim's family from effectively challenging the official
version.

The need for a mechanism to ensure independent
investigation of alleged police misconduct also arises from
complaints that current police investigations into
ill-treatment are not independent and impartial. Amnesty
International welcomes the recommendation by the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 1998 to reform
the complaints procedure to ensure its independence and
impartiality. Other safeguards to deter police officers from
ill-treating people include provisions against incommunicado
detention, effective legal advice and legal presence during
questioning.

Amnesty International made a detailed
submission to the Review of the Offences Against the State
Act(s) which was set up by the Irish Government in 1999; the
report of the Review is still pending. In its submission
Amnesty International recommended:

-- the disestablishment
of the Special Criminal Court, because the government has
not demonstrated that special courts are essential in the
current circumstances and because those courts are also
being used for cases not obviously related to offences
against the state;

-- the repeal of provisions which allow
internment without charge or trial;

-- the repeal of
provisions which allow for detention for extended periods
without charge and without access to a solicitor during
questioning;

-- the introduction of legal aid for lawyers
to attend police stations and provide legal assistance;

--
the presence of lawyers during police interviews with
suspects;

-- a repeal of the Offences against the State
(Amendment) Act 1998, which, among others, curtails a
suspect's exercise of the right to remain silent during
police questioning. This curtailment, coupled with the
restrictions on a suspect's rights to legal assistance may
be in violation of the right to a fair trial because it
impermissibly shifts the burden of proof onto the accused
and violates the presumption of innocence and the right not
to be compelled to testify against oneself.

Amnesty
International also continues to press for the implementation
of a statutory framework for the asylum determination
procedure. Appointees to the Refugee Advisory Board and
Refugee Appeals Tribunal should be independent and trained
in international refugee and human rights law. Effective and
accessible legal advice should be made available.

The
organization is also concerned with the lack of safeguards
surrounding the proposed detention of unsuccessful
asylum-seekers: detention may be imposed when it is not
necessary and on an arbitrary basis, without judicial
supervision and without appeal. ENDS.../ Amnesty
International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United
Kingdom

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